


The Globe Mall

by cxnstellation



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe, Multi, Tags are added as characters and relationships are added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-20 14:16:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6010657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cxnstellation/pseuds/cxnstellation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bianca Bernard, the personification of Antartica, is a newbie to the Globe Mall. With barely a clue who anyone is, she's stuck getting to know everyone. Can she handle the mall's other store owners?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Morning of Discoveries

_So this is the Globe Mall_.

Bianca stood behind the counter of the mall's ice cream parlor, popping her mint gum and waiting for a customer. She twirled a strand of pure white hair around her pointer finger and surveyed the world outside of her little parlor. _First day on the job. Let's see how this goes._

The mall's polished marble white interior was painted a champagne tone with early morning light. A few workers wandered around the mall, getting ready for the day. As more lights flickered on, Bianca decided it was time to open shop. On top of the ice cream bar's glass screen, she set up a sign that announced the store being open.

The girl flipped her hair over into her face to pull it into a ponytail, when she looked up, she met the smiling eyes of a Spanish young man morning.

_Oh my God. First customer!_

"Good morning." Bianca quickly finished off her ponytail and practiced her perfect worker smile.

"Buenos días." The spaniard's accent and dazzling grin gave her a warm fuzzy feeling. Not quite romantic, but a feeling of welcome.

"Any gelato?" He asked, his eyes skipping from one ice cream bucket to another.

Bianca stepped to the end of the counter. "You're just in luck. Though the selection is limited." She made a gesture to say _what can you do?_

"Any particular flavor you would like?"

"Bacio?" He bit his lip and stroked his chin. "Or that's just what Lovi calls it."

"Bacio." Bianca frowned. "I'm afraid the selection doesn't go that far. Anything else?"

"Chocolate?" The handsome boy tried again. "You can always rely on chocolate." The girl scooped the smooth gelato onto a cone and handed it to the spaniard.

"Gracias." He grinned, an aura of charisma surrounding him.

"Anything else?" Bianca asked as she moved to stand in front of the cash register.

"Oh that will be all-" The man was cut off by a yelling from what seemed like from the other side of the mall.

"ANTONIO! BASTARD!" The Spaniard quickly slammed his cash on the counter and cringed as he departed. "I have to go stop him before he breaks something." With that, Antonio took off sprinting down the mall, not even having taken the receipt from Bianca's hand.

 _That was... Odd_.

Bianca shrugged and returned to her rountine. She pulled a stool from the corner of her little side shop and sat behind the bar. She fiddled with her antique compass necklace, a small smile crossing her face.

The parlour was closed off, no entrance/exit or chairs. People simply walked up, ordered, then took their ice cream and left to scour the rest of the mall. Bianca was proud of her little shop.

The main lady in charge of the mall, having known Bianca her entire life, trusted her with an ice cream parlour that if not for Bianca, would've been carved out of the shopping center for some other establishment to move in.

Though one phrase that had been told to Bianca still rang in her ears. _"Just a warning, other employees here can be a bit...eccentric."_ At the time she had been too ecstatic to ask for clarification on what eccentric meant, but she was going to find out eventually.

 _I wonder if that Spanish guy is okay. Whoever was yelling at him seemed pretty ticked off._ Bianca shrugged. _I guess I'll just have to wait and see._

As more people trickled into the mall, it became clear that deciding to work the little shop was one of the happiest decisions she had ever made. Seeing the smiles on people's faces as they were handed their sugary cones and hearing the gleeful squeals of children made her heart swell. The amount of money already piling up in the cash register was pretty uplifting too.

Bianca liked seeing people happy, even though she herself was rather introverted. She wasn't one to attend parties. In every group high school project she had ever worked in, she straight forward told her other partners that she would take on all the work to save herself the trouble of communicating. She had a few close friends, who she loved to hang out with, but the white haired girl just wasn't a social butterfly.

"Look! We've got a new neighbor!" A thick Australian accent rang out through the throngs of shoppers.

Stomping towards her booth was a burly summer-attired man with a bandage across his nose. He dragged with him a more proper looking boy, with neat curly hair and an adorable smile. _What the-_

"You must be the newbie running this." The Australian gestured animatedly to Bianca before jerking the prim boy up to stand beside him. "See I told you it would keep running!" He let out a hearty laugh.

The boy gingerly touched a hand to his forehead. "I never tried to contradict you, Bruce." He huffed in a quiet voice.

Bruce continued laughing and smacked his companion on the shoulder a bit too roughly. "Welcome to the mall. My name's Bruce and this guy, you can just call him Sheep."

Bianca nodded, visibly overwhelmed. "Okay. Um... Good to know." She gave the two a slightly scared smile. "So... Which store do you work at?" Her voice quivered with nervousness. Bruce didn't seem like a violent guy, but he was LOUD.

"I own the Crock store down this row!" Bruce grinned proudly. Crocks? The boy who had been deemed the nickname 'Sheep' looked like he was silently apologizing over and over again.

Bianca tried not to wince. "That's great." She noticed the ice cream out of the corner of her eyes. "Would either of you like anything or..."

"Oh no. Just wanted to introduce ourselves. Good day! I can't keep my costumers waiting." Bruce grabbed the arm if the boy beside him and started hauling him away. "C'mon Sheep!"

"I'm so sorry." The prim boy whispered before the two disappeared into a store.

Bianca blinked a few times, processing what had just happened. _I'm starting to see what 'eccentric' meant._

"Damn." A younger male's voice trailed after them.

In front of Bianca now was a brazilian boy with a scowl on his face. He looked similar to Antonio, but younger. She wasn't sure why, but a small part of her was glad to see he was around her age. His sharp amber eyes were narrowed at where the Australian had stood.

He was dressed in a red button down with black jeans tucked into short brown boots. A worn down leather jacket the same color as his boots accented his outfit. He looked like he had just walked straight out of a fashion magazine.

With a huff, the boy turned to face her. "I'm sorry about him." He shook his head at their trail. "Bruce is just always excited to see new people in the mall, plus those Australians were in a slump during this place's hiatus. I'm usually able to keep him from terrifying newcomers, but I was a little too late today." He flashed her a bright friendly grin.

Seated behind the glass barrier between the ice cream and the world, the boy leaned against it to minimize the space between himself and the ivory girl. "Io grosero de mí! I haven't introduced myself. I'm Franco Diego Carriedo. Feel free to call me whichever you like." He winked at the girl and held out his hand to shake. A light blush blossomed on her face.

She was flattered but taken off guard. First the Australian now him? "Pleased to meet you... Diego. I'm Bianca Bernard." She shook his hand and watched as he reacted the way most people did.

Diego jerked back his hand in surprise. "You're freezing!" He exclaimed, a look of awe and curiosity displayed on his face.

"Oh yeah that's just how-" She was cut off by a brown jacket being dangled in front of her face.

"Put it on before you catch a cold." Diego said determinedly.

 _Well he's not a flirt at all._ Bianca tried not to shake her head as she slipped it on. She wasn't cold. She just felt cold. The girl couldn't even begin to tally up how many times she'd been called a vampire or cold-blooded.

"Better?" Diego's voice questioned her.

"Uh yeah." She lied politely.

Diego smiled at her response. Bianca looked down at her necklace. She wasn't the best at talking to people.

"So..." She started off, trying to think of a question. "Do you work here?"

He bobbed his head proudly. "I work at the coffee shop next door. Family business. By the way, the surname Bernard means bear. Ironic isn't it?"

Bianca tilted her head in confusion. "Ironic?"

"Yes. Ironic. You don't seem like much of a bear. Besides bears hibernate in the cold."

Bianca wasn't sure what to think of this boy. He seemed fiery. Almost too fiery. Though he had the same stunning grin as the Spaniard.

"Are you related to-"

"Antonio?" He cut her off. "He's my cousin. Except he's a Spaniard and I'm a Chilean." Diego patted his chest. "And you?"

"Me? I was born on King George Island in the South Shetland Islands and raised in America, but I'm not very sure what my heritage is." Bianca admitted.

Without any warning, Diego reached over the counter lifted Bianca's chin so her eyes met his. He furrowed his eyebrows and narrowed his eyes." You have extremely light traits. Snow white skin. Pale silver eyes. If I were to say for myself, you may have Nordic roots. Definitely European." He let go of her chin, and she felt the light blush from earlier strike again, burning red.

"Diego!" A voice called from the store beside hers.

"I've got to go now, but fear not; I shall return soon. So long for now, Oso!" The Chilean made a show of wishing her goodbye before darting away.

Related to Antonio. That explains the charisma. She didn't know what was up with her, but there was some odd sparking sensation where his hand had cupped her chin.

 _I need ice cream_. Bianca pulled a plastic bowl out from under the counter and scooped vanilla ice cream into it. She had never understood why vanilla ice cream had such a bad reputation. Vanilla was a flavor just like chocolate or strawberry. Why did people despise it so much?

Bianca lifted her phone out of her pocket and dialed her best friend, needing a talk with someone who wasn't a total stranger. A feeling of relief flooded over her as a voice answered on the other end of the line. "Hey B."

"Hey C."

"You're calling me while you're at your job, what's wrong?" It was like Carinne always knew exactly what was on Bianca's mind.

"Are all the workers here the personification of..." What's the word. "Raucous?"

"Who have you met so far?"

"Some cheery Spaniard, Two polar opposite Australians, and a Chilean flirt." It wasn't hard for her to name them all off. They were burned into her memory.

"Oh them. Yeah, they are pretty loud I guess. Don't fret my friend. There's definitely someone there who isn't talkative. There has to be."

Bianca sighed. "Thanks C. Oh and don't two guys you know work here?"

There was a thoughtful pause. "Francis and Arthur. Though I'm not sure they'll be the best company for you. Francis is a major French if you know what I mean and Arthur swears worse than a drunken sailor."

"Yeah. I can see why someone would beware of them. Anyways I can't wait until you get back from Seychelles. You're going to love my parlor."

"I miss you to. By the way, try not to-" Then the line went dead.

Dang it. She probably lost signal. Bianca slipped her phone back into her pocket and focused on eating her ice cream.

She looked up at a standard clock she had hung on the wall. Time for my lunch break. _I need to get some real food._

With that she shed her apron to reveal a black sweater, denium shorts with light black tights, and combat boots. I wonder what Cari was going to say. _I guess I'll just have to find out. Hopefully I can find a restaurant here that isn't worked by overly talkative people._

Noticing she was still wearing the Chilean boy's jacket, she shook her head with  a soft smile. _I guess this means I'll have to see him again._ Despite what she would usually think about people such as him, she was somewhat glad for that.


	2. Lunch with a Helpful Canadian

The food court was bustling with people, most of the noise coming from the restaurants. _This place is almost as bad as a big city._ Words in multiple languages and accents fought against each other to be heard over the kerfuffle.

_Now to find a safe place to eat._

Nearly every restaraunt had authentic orgins and culture. Her eyes lingered on a Chinese restaurant, but it looked overly packed. I guess I could always go there if I can't find anything.

"Come eat pizza! We're having a special deal today!" A cheerful Italian voice stood out the most about the scene.

"No we aren't!" A rougher one responded. This lead to a lot of yelling and someone calling out a German name.

A pizza parlor colorfully stood out against the mall's chalky interior. Bright red and green banners hung on the walls and off of the restaraunts sign. 'Vargas Pizzeria' was presented above the store in bold red cursive.

_Maybe not that one._

She looked around more, desperate to find a place to eat. "Excuse me?" A stranger asked, tapping her shoulder. "You look a little lost."

Bianca looked to her side to see a guy with twinkling violet eyes and a kind smile on his face. She had hardly noticed his presence until he started talking. "They are all pretty loud, I know from expierience. I usually just bring lunch from home. If you want, I can help you find a good place to eat."

"Um. Sure." Bianca smiled. Where've you been?

"Sweet, I know the perfect place to get food. Though I'm pretty sure I'll do most of the talking." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Just follow me."

The two strolled beside each other with Bianca flashing glares at people who absent mindedly bumped into her new friend. "I've already heard who you are, you're Bianca Bernard. Rumor says you're running the ice cream parlor. I'm Matthew." He held out his hand.

Bianca shook it and waited for him to shy away but all he did was shiver. Weird. "Pleased to meet you... So where are we going?"

"Oh yeah. A friend of mine runs this French bakery. He's great at what he does. Really nice guy, but he can be a bit... Over bearing."

The description brought Bianca back to what Carinne had said earlier. The guys name was Francis if she remembered correctly. Half of her wanted to turn away from Matthew right then, but having being the only person she'd had a calm conversation with so far, she decided to stick with him.

"I guess if the food's good then I'll be fine." That was when the two encountered the French man's bakery.

It was a charming thing. The walls were pale gold with lavender designs and the entire bakery was lit by a small chandelier. Behind spotless glass was displayed delectable croissants along with other delicious choices.

"Maybe he isn't he-" Matthew was interrupted by a lavish man coming out from the back of the store with a grin on his face.

"Mon petite Matthieu!" Francis squealed with delight, lunging over the counter to hug the thin Canadian. "What a pleasant surprise for you to come visit! How are doing? Bon?" The enthusiastic baker's eyes landed on Bianca.

"Bon." Matthew replied, his eyes lighting up as he hugged him back. "Oh and this is the new girl who runs the ice cream parlor. Bianca, this is Francis." The boy introduced her to the baker.

The white haired girl waved at the baker, not wanting to make him lunge across the counter anymore to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you." Her voice came out quieter than she meant for it to.

The French man skipped out from behind the counter and swept her up into a bear hug. "You're much too cold mon cher!  Though I'm glad to see little Mattheiu making friends. The pleasure is all mine." He then ruffled the Canadian's hair.

Bianca blinked a few times. Despite the fact that hugs were uncommon for her and she wasn't too particularly fond of most physical contact, Francis gave great hugs. Matthew gave her an apologetic look, though it wasn't very necessary.

_Francis doesn't seem that bad. In fact, he seems rather sweet. I wonder why he has such a bad reputation..._

Francis' eyes widened in remembrance and he snapped his attention away from Matthew to her. "I've been meaning to come find you! I need to know what your favorite cake flavor is."

"Uh. Vanilla." She said the first flavor that popped into her head.

"Vanilla." Francis tapped a finger to his lips. "I can make that work. Take anything you like, on the house. Matthieu, you know how to get pastries. I have work to do. Ah revough!" Francis disappeared back into the restaurant's back room.

Matthieu gave Bianca an awkward smile and walked behind the counter. He lifted two croissants from where they rested and placed them into a box. The boy then grabbed to bags of potato chips and bottles of water from behind the counter. "Let's go find a place to sit." Matthew half smiled.

Luckily an empty bench waited for them outside of the bakery and they both decided to eat there. "You and the French guy seem to know each other well." Bianca said as she took a bite of her croissant.

It's flaky hand made crust tickled her lips and its taste was like a burst of heavenly flavor in her mouth. He knows what he's doing. She hardly noticed when Matthew started talking again, too indulged in her meal.

"Francis used to babysit me and my brother when we were younger. Arthur, this British man, would sometimes look after us too. Though he spent most of his time looking after Alfred, like Francis spent most of his time looking after me. We aren't too far apart when it comes to age, but Francis has always done a good job when looking after my brother and I. There were two other girl's he babysat and he'd sometimes bring them around to play with us." He explained, eating his own lunch.

"Was one of the girls by any chance named Carinne?" The question slipped out.

Matthew's eyes widened. "Why yes. Actually. She's a close friend of mine."

"Me to."

Bianca had decided that this Canadian would make a nice friend. The fact that he was friends with Cari made her like him even more. Though a small part of her lingered back to the Chilean boy. _Why am I thinking about him?_

"I should tell you now before you learn by expierience, I don't suggest you ever mention Francis' name in front of Arthur ever. You can mention Arthur in front of Francis, but I don't think that's a good idea either."

"Why?" Matthew took a deep breath. "They used to be close, Arthur was always tagging along with Francis, trying to be like him. That's what Francis told me anyways. Well that affection evolved and... It just didn't work."

Bianca looked down at her hands. "Their relationship now?"

"Oh God." The guy beside her laughed humorlessly. "If they are even in the same room, they'll try to strangle each other. I mean that literally. While apart, if you even mutter the bakery owner's name in Arthur's presence he'll start cursing you like trucker. Francis will usually just snap the conversation in another direction, which usually means heavily complimenting someone, no matter the gender."

_So Francis is apart of the lgbt+ community. I figured. He seemed as straight as a circle._

"Good to know."

"But there are times I don't think they hate each other as much as they lead people to believe. Sometimes-"

At that moment a burst of noise erupted from behind a sea of people. Sprinting towards them at full speed was a blonde boy decked in a mall cop uniform.

"Mattie Bro!" He pumped his fist in the air and flopped down between Bianca and Matthew. "I've been meaning to tell you about this thug the Turk caught this morning. Man you should've seen him chase the guy down. For someone who spends so much time at a spa, he is dang tough. I would've tackled the thief, but I was working on other important police business..." Alfred's starry eyes locked on Bianca. "Whoa. Mattie's got a date? What? Who's this chick bro?" He punched his brother's arm causing Matthew to wince.

"This 'chick." The Canadian adjusted his glasses. "Is Bianca, she's working the ice cream parlor. And no, we aren't dating."

The American gasped like he had just won the lottery, completely forgetting about his 'dating' question. "Oh you're the newbie and I love that place!" He threw an arm around her shoulders. "You are an angel. Going without ice cream is like a fish going without water. Here." He fished a McDonald's coupon out of the pocket of his outfit. "Free food from me to you." He winked jauntily. "Alfred F. Jones. If there's ever a problem, count on me to be the hero."

"A hero who's bound for diabetes." Matthew mumbled.

"Hey!" Alfred retorted.

Bianca stifled a laugh. The American spun to face her. "So since you're Bianca, I'm supposed to tell you that there's going to be a huge food party this Friday, here, like after hours. I know a food party is lame-o but teens work here and dance parties with beer and stuff might be too dirty for their pure little minds... Though somehow some dudes who always get drunk."

"Alfred you're only nineteen. You're not even legally old enough to drink alcohol yourself."

"Shut up Matt. I'm also a cop with handcuffs."

"Carry on." Alfred huffed at his twin then regained his Colgate white smile. "Anyways it's for you. We always have a party for newbs. So be sure to come. It would be a surprise but those usually get spoiled so it's no use. Just be there." He stood up. "I need a burger. See you dudes later!"

Matthew rolled his amethyst eyes as his brother strolled away. "I apologize for him. He's a bit of an egotistic maniac."

"It's okay... Though this mall does seem to have alot of them."

"You have no clue." Bianca earned a chuckle. "But not everyone is an explosion of arrogance. The Nordic's that run the spa here are pretty cool... Well there's this kinda scary Swedish guy and a Dane who acts alot like Alfred, but the rest are pretty cool."

He gave her a reassuring smile. She took another bite of her worth-its-weight-in-gold croissant. "Thanks for showing me some of the ropes around here Matthew. Where do you work here by the way?"

"I run the ice skating rink. I don't own it. I wish I did. I also teach some lessons there."

"Ice skating rink?!?" Bianca was instantly interested in every single word he said.

If there was one thing Bianca was passionate about, it was ice skating. The feeling of ice beneath her skates as she glided across the ice was to her what flying was to a pilot. It was her passion. To find out that the mall had an ice skating rink was like having her birthday come early.

"Yep. Also, secret mall worker pact some of us here made, free food or discounts equals free entrance or discounts. You don't have to do anything for me, you're free in the rink anytime, but I just wanted to let you know."

Bianca grinned warmly. He was definitely going to be a good friend. "You know what. Whenever you come by the parlor, you get free ice cream."

Matthew returned her enthusiasm. "Thanks Bianca." The two finished the rest of their meal and spent the rest of their lunch break chatting. Bianca learned that they had alot in common. They both liked ice. Both very introverted. Neither of them ever raised their voice unless necessary and so much more. It was like he was her twin instead of Alfred's.

"We should probably get headed back to work." The boy commented, seeing the time on his phone. "Yeah, don't want to keep the people waiting." She stood up and dusted off her clothes. "But I have just one question..."

"Yeah?" Matthew asked her as he got to his feet.

"Why does Francis have such a bad reputation? He doesn't seem like a bad person."

"I had a feeling you would ask that." He bit his lip. "Well Francis isn't a bad person. I don't car what anyone says. He isn't. He just... He just has different morals than most people."

Bianca nodded. "I get it. People tend to judge before they know the story."

Matthew gave her a small smile. "Exactly. Anyways see you around! If I don't go now, I'm gonna be late. Nice meeting you!" He waved before turning and jogging away.

"You to." She said, but he was already out of earshot.

She turned on her heel and started strolling back to her little shop, happy that she had found such a nice guy.


	3. Little Customers

Bianca almost tripped over him when she was walking back to her parlor. "Hey!" A young boy's voice called out in a British accent.

She hadn't expected a little boy with bright blue eyes and bushy eyebrows to be sitting Indian style beside her shop. "Sorry." The icy girl stepped back and held a hand out to him to help him up.

He jumped up on his own. "Quite alright. I'm Peter!" He gestured flamboyantly to himself. "And I know you're Bianca! You run the ice cream shop!"

Bianca couldn't help but grin at his childish enthusiasm. "Yes. I am."

She stepped behind the counter. "Would you like some ice cream?"

Peter bobbed his head excitedly. "I always have dessert money just in case." The white and blue clad boy laid a crumpled ten dollar bill on the parlor's counter.

"Keep it. Don't tell anyone, but I'm in a good mood so I'll give you something on the house."  
Bianca giggled as his eyes widened in surprise.

"Really?" He asked in awe.

"Really. What would you like?"

Peter looked at the choices of ice cream, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration. "Banana split?"

Bianca pulled a plastic bowl out from under the counter and started peeling two bananas. "And the scoops?"

"Hmm. There's this good good one called Neo-all-ton. I think." He tapped his chin.

"Neopaliton?" She suggested. _He is so adorable._

"That's it!" He tried snapping his fingers, then trying again until he made something of a snapping sound.

"So Peter," Bianca asked as she began to make him a banana split. "Do your parents know that you're here or did you run away to live at an ice cream parlor?" She asked teasingly.

She retrieved a plastic bowl from below the array of ice cream then noticed the boy attempting to heft himself up onto the counter. She laughed softly and helped him up the best she could. Peter grinned as a thank you and started swinging his legs.

"Dad said that I could be go out of the coffee shop as long as I stay near it. Him and Mum are getting coffee." He stopped running his mouth to breath."My parents run the pet store. We even have a dog named Hana! Well her name's Hanatamgo, but we just call her Hana."

"Hana. The name means flower I'm guessing?" Bianca started to peel two bananas then placed them in the bowl.

"Yep! I'm learning Finnish and Swedish. I know English already. Learning other languages is hard." Peter pouted.

"Languages can be confusing. I learned some different languages from living on King George Island."

He tilted his head. "King George Island? Is that like Sealand?"

"Sealand?" She raised an eyebrow.

"World's smallest nation!" He grinned with delight.

Bianca nodded. "The island is pretty small if that's what you mean. It's by Antarctica. Lots of countries set up bases there: Poland, Russia, Germany, South Korea, America, and a few others." She listed off.

"Cool! Say something in German!"

"Ich bin Bianca."

"Sweet!" Peter pumped his little fist in the air, bringing it down when she handed him his sundae and placed a cherry on top of it.

Peter lifted a spoon of chocolately goodness into his mouth and continued chatting away. "My uncle's want to teach me even more languages, but Mum doesn't want to start getting them confused. Which is weird. Finnish is confusing already."

"I think one day you'll be a language expert." Bianca smiled encouragingly.

"You really think so?" Peter beemed.

"Absolutely." She ruffled his light brown hair.

_Is this what having a younger brother must be like? Talking about ambitions while eating as much sugar as possible. Siblings don't know how well they have it._

Bianca had always been an only child, which may have lead to why she was so independent and reserved. Especially now that she had moved to a new town all on her own to become completely self reliant. There was freedom in her choice. Though that freedom came with loneliness.

"I want to own a store here one day. Maybe an IKEA." Peter sighed dreamily.

"An IKEA?" _That's an odd dream for a little boy._

"Uh huh! My dad loves IKEA. He probably would've opened one if he hadn't met Mum. Mum always wanted to open a pet store and Dad loves Mum, so they have a pet store."

Peter was a cheerful little thing. Despite not being very open to talkative people, Bianca had a soft spot for this kid. Disliking him was like trying to dislike happiness.

"Thank for the ice cream Miss Bianca." The boy stared at his now-empty bowl. "Can I have some more?" He begged her, his blue eyes wide and hopeful.

"Sorry kid, but I don't want your parents to get mad at me. I can throw away the bowl though." She held out her hand for it.

"Okay." Peter sighed. Then he regained his smile. "You know, maybe I should go ahead and open a store. Then when I'm all grown up it can be big and I can be rich!" He squealed.

"Take a shot at it kid. I believe in you."

That's when they were interrupted by a young couple walking up to the store, hands clasp. One was  a man with creamy light blonde hair and soft features, holding a cup of coffee and wearing a questionable look on his face. His companion was stone faced, stoic, and down right intimidating.

"Mum! Dad!" Peter jumped down from the counter and ran up to the taller one, holding up his arms in hopes of  being picked up. "This is Bianca! She gave me ice cream!"

"Oh did she?" The shorter man smiled lightly, glancing at Bianca.

"Uh huh! She knows German to!" He began to ramble on about her. Peter didn't notice when his Finnish father slipped away to talk to Bianca; he just continued rambling to his Swedish parent.

"He didn't bother you to much did he?" His accent was crisp and clear.

"Oh no. He's a good kid." She reassured the man.

The man sighed in relief. He pulled out his wallet. "How much did the ice cream cost?"

"It was free." She insisted.

"Oh that's nice. I'm Peter's Dad, Tino. That's Berwald." Toni motioned to the man holding Peter, listening contently to everything the young boy was saying.

"He seems..." Think Bianca. Think. "Nice."

Tino chuckled. "He looks intimidating. I know. Anyway I just wanted to thank you for watching him. Sorry about that by the way."

"It's fine." She looked over at him to see him grinning  at her. "In fact he can come by the parlor anytime, I just won't give him ice cream everytime."

"Thank you." The man smiled softly. "Feel free to come by the pet store anytime. We'd love to have you come by. I'm afraid we have to get back to the shop."

Peter squirmed out of his father's hold and skipped up beside Tino. "See you at the dinner party, Bianca." Peter grinned.

With that goodbye, the little family set off back to their store. Peter stayed between his parent's, Bernard taking one of his hands and Toni taking the other. _What an adorable family_.

Hours ticked by from that point. Bianca had busier herself with polishing already spotless equipment and rearranging things multiple times, trying to find the perfect organization. She was a bit of an idealist. 'A bit' meaning 'entirely.'

At the moment she was just about ready to call it a day and head back to her apartment. The day had been flat out odd. Many of  the workers had an 'in your face' personality that made her want to crawl under a rock and hide. Then others were like her, the opposite.

With a lack of present customers, Bianca sat down  on the floor behind the counter. She pulled her hair out of the bun she had forced it into. Resting her head against the counter, she fiddled with the black ring around her middle finger.

That's when she realized, she was still wearing that Chilean boy's jacket. She scanned the smooth worn material and the smallest smile graced her face. The jacket smelled of rich cologne, a scent that lead her to wish that she could snuggle up in the article of clothing and forget the world for a while.

Her pale silver eyes traced over its cuffs. The very edges  of it were fraying from everyday usage, but that just added to its character. _Like the boy who gave it to me._

_I should probably get this back to him before I leave today._ She almost sighed at the thought. Sure, he was a bit loud and a bit overly friendly, but a sliver of Bianca still wanted to see him again. An even more selfish side of her mind wanted to steal his jacket.

"Lovino, come on! Haven't you forgiven me yet?"

Bianca peaked over the counter to see Antonio bickering with a little-ball-of-fury Italian. Lovino was trying to powerwalk away from his companion. Toni placed a hand on the shorter man's shoulder, spinning the furious boy to face him.

The two guys stood in the middle of the mall isle facing each other. Lovino glared up at the Spaniard and Antonio smiled down at him. "Don't think I'll forgive you just because you gave me ice cream, bastard!" He crossed his arms tightly over his chest.

Antonio sighed. "I guess I'll just leave you alone then."

The Spaniard stepped around the Italian and started to walk away, a knowing ghost of a smile slipping into place  of his grin. _What is he doing?_

Lovino tensed up before turning on his heel and dashing after Antonio. "Wait!" He grabbed Toni's hand, not letting him leave.

Antonio hid a smirk and turned to face a very blushy Lovino. "So you do forgive me?"

All the little Italian did in response was glare fiercely at the bubbly man he was holding hands with before looking down at the ground. "I've got to go." The grumpy man scowled, snatching his hand back and attempting to ditch his companion.

Well that's an odd relationship if I've ever seen one.

"Lovi wait!" Toni called after him.

"What?" Lovino snapped.

Antonio stepped in front of him, grabbed his hands, and leaned down to press a kiss to Lovino's forehead. "I'll see you at home, my little tomato." Toni smiled lovingly.

Lovino turned a deep red and he stomped away, leaving Antonio with a dopy grin plastered on his face. Toni sighed happily, watching the grumpy Italian storm off.

A moment later, the Spanish spun spun inn his heel and sauntered away, singing a soft song. Despite how his the boy had just treated him, he looked like he wouldn't be as content with the most romantic person in the world.

_Relationships are weird. I may not be the most experienced in them, but think they're are supposed to be a bit different than what I just saw. I guess as long as they're both happy, then that's all that matters._

Bianca glanced at her phone to learn the time. The mall closes not too long from now. She slipped her phone back into her pocket and looked around for customers.

Despite the few experiences, her first day hadn't been so bad. She'd made a few friends. Now she just had to adjust to living like that everyday. It wouldn't be easy, but she'd figure out a way to handle it.

There were aspects  of it she liked. She liked the smell of baking pastries from the little French bakery. She liked the family that ran the pet store she'd had yet to go to. She liked how everyone shared with each other and traded equally, like each person in the mall had their own personal role to play in the mall's world.

I wonder what role I'll play. People had started to leave their shops and head for the exits, many of them conversing and some going as far as to hug each other 'bye.' Bianca expected to simply be ignored as she walked out of the mall, but was bombarded with 'bye's and 'see you tomorrow's. Having decided to work until dark that day, Peter's family escorted her to her car.

"Have a nice night!" Tino smiled at Bianca as she climbed into her car's driver seat.

"You to." She smiled back before driving off.

_It may be something I'm not used to, but this wasn't a bad idea._

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
